Ruling could boost Florida construction costs

A national credit-rating agency is warning investors that a Florida school-district financing program faced "negative implications" because of a state Supreme Court ruling. The announcement from Standard & Poor's could lead to higher interest rates for school districts when they sell bonds, and that could increase school-construction costs. The court ruled that when government agencies issue bonds to pay for public projects -- and plan to pay them back with future property taxes -- they must first get voter approval. For schools, the ruling has cast doubt on the legality of "certificates of participation," a widely used method of financing

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